Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

New Zealand-based global healthcare brand Comvita has harnessed the power of virtual reality to give Kiwis a glimpse of how it sources its Manuka honey.

While pairing a healthcare brand with VR might seem incongruent, it somehow seems to work. Once you put on the headset, you're immersed into a footage—shot by Staples Production using a rig of six GoPros hanging from the bottom of a helicopter—of the remote Kaimanawa Ranges, where Comvita sources the honey.

The footage starts high above the ranges, showcasing the natural beauty of the treetops and the the Mohaka river, all while a narrator tells the story behind the brand.

The helicopter eventually lands at the hive site, in an untouched corner of New Zealand, where the beekeepers are shown tending and harvesting honey from the hives. One of the best parts of the experience was being put in the position of a beekeeper, looking down with a bird's eye-view, picking up trays and getting close to the swarming bees. It was also surprising to notice the beekeepers had their sleeves rolled up and were handling the trays with bare hands.

While the novelty of VR always makes for an interesting experience, in this instance the quality of the footage simply wasn't good enough to allow for a complete suspension of disbelief. That said, VR campaigns are still in their infancy and the technology will only get better over next few years—especially when considering that the VR and augmented reality market is set to hit $150 billion by 2020.

Comvita chief supply officer Colin Baskin says the brand decided to try out VR as it fits with its purpose in bringing innovation to all corners of the business.

“There is a huge potential for VR to tell the story of where those ingredients come from,” he says.

Baskin says some of Comvita's ingredients are sourced from a marine environment, which also has the potential for a great VR experience and that it’s a great way for consumers in other countries to see where its Manuka honey comes from and the lengths the brand goes to to get it.

Comvita general manager of ICT Dan Waugh agrees.

“It’s hard to tell our story to customers overseas and this is immersive and the best way we can get them close to the source.”

Several Kiwi brands have given VR and 360-degree video a go over the past year, and while it’s exciting trying VR out the first few times, it’s quickly become apparent that while simple uses of it are exciting now, brands will need to get far more creative with it in the not-so-distant future when the technology becomes more mainstream. But, for now, the novelty stays.

For those that want to give Comvita’s VR experience a go, you can do so at its retail stores at Auckland’s international airport, the Viaduct and Experience Comvita in Paengaroa.

If we find you doing these things, your comments will be edited without recourse and you may be asked to go away and reconsider your actions.
We respect the right to free speech and anonymous comments. Don’t abuse the privilege.

On Monday, Whittaker’s launched its latest novelty chocolate-lolly mash up with a chocolatey answer to retro bakesale treat coconut ice. The Coconut Ice Surprise chocolate has a twist though, 20c from each block goes to Plunket – a charity which New Zealanders agree is a worthy cause. However, to relate the chocolate to the charity, Whittaker's has built the campaign around baby gender reveal parties, causing a backlash from the public who argue gender norms have expanded beyond blue for boys and pink for girls.

Genius From Elsewhere

1

With over 10,000 fires occuring in South Korea residential homes every year, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has created a flower vase that doubles as a throwable fire extinguisher. The hope is it will raise awareness to the public safety issue of home fire safety.

2

Advertisers have stopped buying ads on YouTube after their ads appeared on children's videos where pedophiles had infiltrated the comment section.The New York Times investigates the comments.

3

The internet has been up in arms about a supposed 'Anti-LGBT' emoji, featuring a rainbow flag alongside the "no" symbol. However, according to Time, the emoji causing offence is actually "an unfortunate implementation of the standards that govern how text is displayed on our device".

4

This year, Super Bowl audiences were treated to a 45-second video of Andy Warhol eating a Burger King Whopper. It was certainly a campaign unlike any before, but did it work? Adweek takes a look.

5

As of 1 March, Queenslanders will be able to include one of five emojis alongside their licence places. The options—the laughing-crying face, the winking face, the sunglasses face, the heart-eyed face, or the classic smiley face—are courtesy of Personalised Plates Queensland.

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Why we like it: Infomercial-style ads take us right back to the glorious days of old when we were sick – but not too sick – home from school and got the sought-after opportunity to watch daytime TV. There was literally nothing greater in an eight-year-old's life. So for that reason, these ads get a big tick from us. There's humour, and, despite what often happens when radio hosts venture into a visual format, it doesn't miss the mark.

Who's it for: House of Travel by the in-house team

Why we like it: Who doesn't love when brands bring back a break-out star from one of their earlier campaigns? To be completely honest, we didn't recognise Lucy on first glance, but after a quick trip down memory lane, we placed her as Miss Lucy from that singing and dancing retro campaign House of Travel launched more than a decade ago. We like the continuity of this ad and watching a man choke on his drink after a snapback from a woman doesn't hurt either.

Who's it for: Joblist by Badger Communications

Why we like it: Sonia is a dead-set hero. We are introduced to her glamorous, visor-wearing face peering out from behind a freshly-levelled hedge and the next thing we know she's no ordinary arborist. We watch Sonia as she looks into that shrub's soul and reveals the schnauzer-shaped masterpiece of her own creation. We never knew we needed someone with Sonia's skill set in our lives, but now we know we do. Thank you Sonia for showing us the light.